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Atlanta area AIDS activist donates papers to Emory

ATLANTA — A retired psychiatrist and longtime AIDS activist in the Atlanta area has donated his papers to Emory University.

The school says Jesse Peel donated his collection of journals, appointment books, subject files, correspondence, photographs and more than 80 reel-to-reel audio tapes he sent to his mother during his tour of duty in Vietnam to Emory's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library.

The library's curator of modern political and historical collections, Randy Gue, says the collection "provides great insight into Atlanta's response to the AIDS crisis.

Peel says he decided to give his papers to Emory because he was impressed by the library's "dedication to preserving Atlanta's history and its desire to include gay and lesbian history."